Would He Be Happy To See You Like This?
by speedingarrows
Summary: It's been three years since the death of beloved Wally West. Tigress is left a mess and left the team for a solo life of crime. Dick Grayson was patrolling the streets of Gotham as Nightwing when he meets her again, not as the person he knew three years ago, but a person wrapped up by her emotions and grief over a lost one. Spitfire and a bit of Batwing
1. Chapter 1

It had been nearly a three years. Three years since that day. That day Dick Grayson had lost his friend, his best friend. He remembered that moment like it was only yesterday, when the speedsters had put an end to the bomb which had gone cresols and could've destroyed half the world. Three speedsters went in, only two came out. That moment when the Flash hung his head afterwards explaining what happened, how he watched Wally West become an exit portal for the energy and exit with it. Dick remembered how he watch Artemis, Wally's lover fall to the ground in tears as soon as she heard the news, how he watched all his friends mourn over the loss of their beloved speedster.

None of them knew how much he grieved though, none of them missed Wally as much as he did, not even Artemis. Wally and Dick had been friends since they had been part of the Teen Titans. Their friendship was a rare one, one that made them as close as brothers. Dick had known Wally longer than the rest of members on the Young Justice team and knew him the best of everyone.

Wally, he was the one Dick first showed his true face to, the face behind the mask; the one he had sworn himself not to show anyone to but to Bruce and Alfred.

Dick was the one Wally went straight to when he needed advice whether it was about girls, missions or just to talk.

Wally was the cookies to his milk.

Surprisingly, Dick had managed to cope quite well with the loss of Wally. His death was an everlasting pain that would remain with him until Dick's dying day, however he managed with the pain in his heart. However Dick knew that other people hadn't coped quite as well as him.

Dick hadn't seen Artemis for nearly three years. Something about her changed that day; she had took on the superhero identity as Tigress to distance herself from Artemis, who she believed to be Wally's partner. She began looking at things in negative ways, like all the colour had drained out from her life and she could only see things filtered in grey. She began distancing herself, not contributing much on missions and her persona became more and more aggressive. As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into month she started missing more and more missions and events within the team. Eventually Artemis had completely isolated herself from the team.

Dick hadn't seen her since then. He too decided to fly solo as Nightwing but he still was close with the team which was now much smaller than it was when he left. None of the team members had seen Artemis nevertheless even texted her, not even Green Arrow had contact with her.

Dick was in his full Nightwing costume patrolling the alleyways of Gotham in the middle of the night. Batman was out of town, even though Nightwing no longer worked for Batman, he knew that it was up to him to make sure Gotham was safe. It had been a fairly quiet night, no bad guys had committed a single crime. It was good though, Nightwing felt like his head needed some quiet time to clear his head from all the stress he had; just because he was no longer working with Batman didn't mean Nightwing didn't have a lot on his plate.

Nightwing decided to return his small apartment which he shared with Barbra, his current girlfriend. Just as he was about to, he sensed movement in the alleyway between a coffee shop and a milk bar. No it wasn't a rat scavenging through garbage bags, the movement was far too big for it to be a rat. Nightwing took out his escrima sticks and made sure he was ready for a fight. Cautiously, he walked into the alleyway. There was a minute of silence but Nightwing kept his guard up.

Before he could blink a woman dressed in an orange costume and jumped out from the pile of garbage bags aiming a kick at Nightwing's head. He managed dodge it and the woman landed on the other side on both feet. Her mask had fallen off as she had tried to kick him which landed at Nightwing's feet. He picked it up, he recognised that mask, the woman turned around.

"Artemis?!"

Artemis stood there in front of him, wearing the same Tigress costume as she had been wearing when she went undercover with Kaldur three years ago and then also after Wally died. Her appearance had changed but she was still recognisable; her expression had a more naturally hostile look and her blonde hair which was usually neatly tied back was messy and uncared for. Artemis looked like the state clone Roy Harper was in when he was obsessed with finding the real Roy Harper; she was a mess.

"Do not call me that, I don't go by Artemis anymore," she hissed, her voice with a sinister tone.

"What happened to you?" Nightwing asked, his voice softening but keeping his fight stance up.

"I became Tigress, that's what happened?" Without warning, she threw a punch at him which Nightwing just managed to duck under. He punched her back which threw her slightly off guard then kicked her onto the ground.

"Where were you for three years ago? You've changed so much," Nightwing said aiming his escrima sticks at her while Tigress was on the ground.

Tigress lifted her upper body and scowled, "what does that matter to you Dick?"

"It matters to me because you're my friend," Nightwing replied.

Tigress snorted and gave him a piercing glare, "I've gone to the path I was destined to go down before, I am now devoted to a life of crime, being a hero-it's not my thing anymore, my dad had been right from the beginning."

With that, she kicked the escrima sticks out of Nightwing's grip and got up. She kicked him at the waist throwing Nightwing to crash into the wall. Before she could escape from the alleyway, Nightwing had gotten up and grabbed Tigress from the back then pinned her to the wall with a wing-ding.

"What happened to the Artemis who I knew before, the one who could do better than her criminal family?" Nightwing asked in a tone mixed with sympathy and scolding.

"Don't call me Artemis!" She barked, "I'm not Artemis!"

Tigress struggled to free herself from the wall but her ways were failing.

"I chose this life! I want to be a criminal!" She snapped struggling more and shaking her head vigorously, "Artemis is no more! She is gone! Tigress is left and Tigress is not a hero!"

There was a spark of insanity within Tigress as she was saying it, it was more than her personality and appearance that had changed. Nightwing could see was desperately trying to push emotions or memories away, like she was refusing to believe she was ever Artemis. Then suddenly it him, Nightwing realised why she was like this; Wally.

"Artemis-"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" She yelled, but Nightwing ignored her and continued on.

"Do you think Wally would be happy to see you like that?"

Tigress stopped struggling and gave him an icy look with her grey eyes that looked like they could impale someone, "don't you dare bring Wally into this."

Nightwing just returned her the glare, as he looked closer into her eyes, he could see more than a hero who turned bad; he saw agony, hysteria, trauma, sadness.

 _Wally_ , as soon as Nightwing had said his name it had pulled a lever inside Tigress, a lever that caused her to stop; to trigger broken, melancholy emotions that pushed away at the back of her mind.

In the past three years, once Tigress had isolated herself completely from all her friends, she had never heard anyone say the name Wally nor did she ever mention his name. She undoubtedly had thought of him, but thinking of him was different to actually hearing his name. And the fact that Nightwing said it, Nightwing; Dick Grayson; Wally's best friend, it just had an impact on her.

"Well tell me, would Wally be happy if he saw you like this?" Nightwing asked. Tigress felt hot tears flood her eyes, she forcefully blinked them away.

"Wally's dead!" She said coldly, "what he would think of me now wouldn't matter."

Nightwing's face fell, he obviously seemed hurt, however Tigress didn't care, or at least she tried not to care.

Nightwing then did something he had never done before in while he was on duty; he took off his mask.

"That's very un-Dick Grayson like," Tigress muttered shocked.

"Actually it's not, Dick Grayson only reveals his identity to people he was close to, people who meant a lot to him, people who were his best friends, people like you, Artemis."

Tigress did not protest this time when he called her Artemis, instead her glare loosened.

"On the night Wally died," Nightwing gulped, "I-I didn't just loose one best friend, I lost two, do you know how hard that is to deal with?"

For the first time in three years Tigress felt sympathy, seeing Dick in his full Nightwing costume and no mask on to show the sorrow in his eyes that looked like were about to shed tears.

Tigress sighed, "when Wally died, Artemis died too, because Wally and Artemis were bound to each other by an unbreakable string called love, this love was something rare, something Artemis had never experienced before or seen before," her voice sounded less hostile than it had been for three years, "Artemis had come from a family where love wasn't real, where every one was for themselves, she never saw her parents genuinely show affection to each other, no they showed the complete opposite, so once Artemis had the chance for love, she was stupid enough to let herself get wrapped up and consumed by it that it got her killed, now Tigress was left to live with her agony."

Nightwing looked up at Tigress when she finished, her face was stained with tears, no longer did it have the virulent expression she had a few minutes ago but instead a face that he remembered Artemis had.

"And now it's time for Tigress to continue both Wally and Artemis's legacy, because if she doesn't and instead wastes it in crime and inaneness neither can live on after death," Nightwing said tenderly.

Tigress inhaled with penitence and looked down at the ground. Tears just kept flooding out of her eyes. "Why did it have to be Wally? Why was it him who had to die?" She just kept sobbing. This was the first time in three years that she had cried, now she was letting all the feeling that she had been stored inside her all that time in tears.

Nightwing held her hand, "I don't know, death doesn't discriminate between the good and the bad" his voice slightly trembling. Tigress just kept weeping, she couldn't stop herself no matter how hard she tried.

She felt Nightwing lift up her chin, "you're a mess Tigress, come home with me, Barbra and I will help you get back on track, so you can start a new life."

Tigress wasn't sure if she wanted to go with Nightwing and start a new life, but he was right, she was a mess, at least for now she needed somewhere better to stay.

With that she sat behind Nightwing on his motorbike as he took her to he and Barbra's apartment. When they arrived, Barbra was still up to greet them, without even questioning Tigress she hugged her and helped her settle down. Tigress gazed around their apartment, it wasn't as cosy as the one she had with Wally, but she could see how they called it home. Barbara gave her a set of her pyjamas and quickly organised a bed for Tigress in a spare room.

Once she was sure both Dick and Barbra were completely asleep, Tigress snuck out of the room. She walked slowly through the small living area of their apartment, Wally and I could have been living like this, she thought to herself as she stared at a cupboard of photos. Two photos in particular caught Tigress' interest, one just of Wally with a small piece of granite next to it of it engraved with the words "Rest In Peace" as well as a packet of chicken weezies. The other picture was a picture of her, Wally, Dick, Megan, Connor and Kaldur, a week or two after their first New Years as a team. Tigress wiped the dust over Wally's face.

 _Do you think Wally would be happy to see you like this? Dick's words repeated in her head._

"No," Tigress whimpered out loud staring at Wally's smiling face, "he would be miserable to see me like this."

 _And now it's time for Tigress to continue both Wally and Artemis' legacy, because if she doesn't and instead wastes it on crime and inaneness neither can live on after death._

Tigress' felt hot tears trickle down her cheek. Maybe Dick was right, she needed to start a new life, a fresh, new life to carry on Wally's legacy.

"I'll start over for you Wally," she said her voice trembling, staring at Wally's motionless photograph, "for you."

A/N: how did I go? Sorry the ending was a bit rushed, this was the first fanfiction I ever wrote so yeah. Please leave me comments on whether you like it or whether you have any constructive criticism. Thanks for reading xx


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N I originally decided for this story to be a one shot but to thanks to the people who have favourited and left positive/constructive reviews on my story, I've felt motivated to continue it. Thank you so much to those people, I highly appreciate your feedback and take it on board. I'm new to writing in fan fiction and your reads and reviews mean a lot. This chapter may seem a little confusing as it takes place in another dimension/time frame but I promise when if you wait for future chapters it'll all begin to make sense. Love you guys so much! Also can someone tell me how to add in line breaks via a tablet? Thanks xx_

THREE YEARS AGO

The three speedsters sped around the alien bomb gone chrysalis. Energy bouncing from it hit Wally like a train, electrocuting every part of his body. He cried in agony; he was dying, but wasn't dead yet.

"Bart, slow down to knock off some of the energy attacking Wally," Barry ordered Impulse.

Before they could slow down, Wally saw himself slowly turn transparent as more energy struck him.

"It's no use," Wally said, "man Artemis is going to kill me, don't even get me started on mum and dad!"

"Kid!" Barry cried

"Just tell them, ok?" Wally weakly smiled. Before they could say anymore, he felt himself disappear.

It was all black. But only for a few minutes, or a few days; Wally wasn't sure. He had reawakened somewhere different, still running like he did when he, the Flash and Impulse were running to stop the speed force from an alienated bomb. The sky was a vivid purple colour, and the stars glowed bright orange. He was no longer running on the snowy ground of the North Pole, but on a sandy desert plain.

He wasn't dead; at least he didn't feel dead. Wally kept running, he didn't know why but he did. In the distance he heard Artemis' voice, her voice from their memories. Maybe the reason he kept running was because maybe he could catch up to Artemis' voice.

Wally didn't know how long he had been running for, time didn't seem to exist wherever he was. He hadn't seen a single sign of civilisation anywhere, just desert plains. Wally ran until he could run no more, he was panting the hardest he ever had and his legs were trembling from exhaustion. _Where am I?_ He thought to himself, _why am I not dead?_

The ground was unusually soft and comfortable for a ground, Wally lay down looking up into the weird coloured sky, anticipating where he was and what was happening. What if he was dead and this was his afterlife? He'd probably never know, there was no sign of any life form anywhere.

 _Artemis_. Wally wondered what she was doing right now, how she was feeling, how she was she coping with his sudden departure from earth. Wally felt guilt choke him, he had just left her like that. He knew that he couldn't help it, he never asked the energy from the speed force to exit via him, however, he had just ran off to stop the bomb going chrysalis, before he could even say goodbye to her. How could he be so careless, he should have known that there'd be a possibility he could "die", he shouldn't have left her so abruptly.

A voice inside his head that wasn't his own was telling him he should keep running, try and get to the other side; the other side of what he did not know. But Wally was too tired and weak to keep going, he felt as if he had been running for days. His cupboards had half a packet of chicken weezies left, which Wally was sure wasn't going to last very long thanks to his fast metabolism.

If Wally wasn't dead yet, he'd very much soon be. With the very little food left, no water and no Artemis, his fate had already been written out; he'd perish here. Wally hoped like everything in his life, that his real death would be fast, so he'd suffer less. Wally thought that if he tried to sleep, he'd perhaps die in his sleep. Slowly he shut his eyes, hopefully not having to wake up again and suffer more.

Sleeping wasn't much help though, it just made him feel worse.

Wally dreamt of Artemis after his departure. Her crying with the pain of his loss and dreading every day she had without him. Visions of the happiness getting drained out of her life, changing her mentality, erupting inner demons inside of her, because of him, because she thought he was truly dead. Wally tried to wake up from this nightmare, but he couldn't, the rest of his body was too tired and his eyelids were too heavy to open.

He saw Artemis distancing herself from everyone she cared about to the point she no longer were connected with them. He saw her began to take less care of herself, her personality, the main thing Wally had loved her for, fade away. Eventually it looked as though Artemis was nearly driven to insanity and there wasn't anything Wally could do about it.

It was too much for Wally to take. He woke up, screaming and drenched in sweat. God, he hoped that what he just dreamed wasn't the reality, that it really was all a dream. Time was confusing in this new dimension, as Wally was unsure on how long he was actually asleep. It felt like weeks or maybe even years, but maybe it could've been only five minutes, Wally would never know. But he didn't care about that at this moment, all he cared about was Artemis, the agony she could be in; he couldn't let the possibility of that dream being real slip, because if it was and he took his sweet time getting out of this dimension, the damage that Artemis could have done to herself that Wally could have put a stop to would be something he'd never forgive himself for.

Wally was still low on food and water and too weak to walk. But he had to, Artemis was perishing in her emotions that he was responsible for. Slowly, Wally got up, his legs felt frail and were shaking struggling to maintain balance. He then began to trudge tardily to somehow find an exit from this place and get back home; to Artemis


End file.
